A Dinner to Remember

When Eastern Boy has a night off work we try to do something special and fun in London. Since school as been dominating so much of my time lately, it had been a while since we had gone on one of our “London Adventures.” On Monday night we had plans to meet for dinner after I finished at school. I was craving Chinese but the only Chinese food that I know about was a take away place and rather expensive. We decided to pop in to a little Korean place not far from where I live. The menu looked like just what I was craving and reasonably priced for London eat-in (sitting down to eat at a restaurant is always about 10% more than take away. The theory is they have to pay someone to take care of you and wash your dishes afterwards!) prices. We were greeted outside by a friendly Korean face who kindly explained the menu and invited us in. Inside we were met by a warm atmosphere, where we picked a nice candle lit table for two by the window.

The descriptions on Korean menus are rather vague so we picked the cheapest thing, a spicy beef pot dish and an extra side of rice, for me. We were deep in conversation about our days and enjoying the complimentary snacks (sweet and sour peanuts, spicy cabbage, zucchini and lightly mashed potatoes with corn) when we noticed the food arrive at the table next to us. It was being cooked by the server on a small skillet in the middle of the table and it smelled fabulous. Eastern Boy commented that he hoped that’s what we ordered! It wasn’t seconds later that our cups of SOUP arrived. I think the server could see the disappointment on our faces because he asked if we were happy with our choice. We graciously said “yes! It looks wonderful!” but he wasn’t satisfied. He asked if we had eaten Korean before and we answered we had not. He picked up our soup and said “You were so confident in your orders I thought you knew, this is not ok for your first time. We will take this off the bill and I will be back to help you order!” We were both a little shocked at what had just happened, but rather excited about the prospect of eating the thing at the table next to us! When he returned he helped us pick out an appetizer (Deep fried chicken with garlic and honey sauce) and a sizzling table B.B.Q (thinly sliced chicken fillet marinated in Cah-chi sauce and thinly sliced pork fillet marinated in chili sauce) and a glass each of white wine! We giggled with excitement over our second choice and waited in anticipation.

To accompany our dishes the server brought spring onions, cabbage, a ginger sauce, rice and lettuce leaves. He proceeded to sauté the chicken and pork strips on the small burner he had set up for us until they were completely cooked. He then showed us the Korean way to eat the food. He put one piece of lettuce on our small saucer plates, a little bit of rice, some spring onion, a piece of chicken or pork, topped off with a bit of ginger sauce. He then instructed us to eat like a lettuce wrap. It was so good! We continued to eat raving about how it was the best meal we had in London until our stomachs were beyond satisfied and there were just a few bites left. The server then proceeded to wrap about the last two bites for us to take home and enjoy later! This concept is unheard of in the UK (and I believe most of Europe). I have many times asked for a to-go box and have been met with a blank “Are you a stupid American?” stare; now I just carry my own plastic container or order very little when eating out!

I have found it is so many of the unexpected experiences that stand out as special to me. While enjoying our delicious meal Eastern Boy changed his mind about the kebab book and now thinks we should write about small “hole in the wall” secrets that turn out to be the best little surprises!